Offline
by Acrazia
Summary: Yuuichi visits Ryou in Tokyo; a romance blooms. HaseoXSilabus. Yaoi. Slightly OOC, Slightly cobbled together from manga, games, anime, and novels. I've officially moved to AO3!
1. Chapter 1

The Offline Gathering: Reboot

A/N: This will make more sense than the original, promise.

"Silabus,

There's a dungeon I want to clear for the treasure at the Beast Statue. Meet me on the field of Sigma Competing Youngest's Conclusion today at 10. Don't tell anyone.

-Haseo"

Yuuichi stared with a slight frown into his headset, reading the short message again. It seemed unusual for Haseo to ask him to a specific destination, let alone have the tag line, "Don't tell anyone." What was going on?

Deciding it was useless to speculate on anything that was going on in Haseo's mind, he logged into The World.

He was unsure if anyone else felt exactly as he did about The World. He knew he would be addicted to it the first time he created his character, and every time he logged in anew, it was like a religious experience. The sound always hit him first. If he could, he'd have background music for real life as well, the same sort of breathtaking orchestral pieces that evoked the taste of adventure on the wind.

The next to load is the surroundings, the Chaos Gate revolving slowly as everything loaded. He could stare into the center of that Gate for hours, the glowing orbs never creating the same pattern twice, like a snowflake, beautiful, unique, but exactly the same. Hard to describe, he thought, embarrassed that he had considered many times writing these musings down into a creative essay and turning it in for credit. His Japanese teacher already knew he had a problem with video games; no need to cement that label onto him.

The final part in the load process was one that he always looked forward to the most. All of the Player Characters generated, ending the loading process, turning all movement in The World smooth and perfect. Outside, the morning sun grew warm and glistened brightly off of Mac Anu's canals. The dull hum of PC discussing strategy, haggling at the stores, warping in and out, cheering happily, arguing, whispering softly to one another, this was the absolute best part of The World. The players. They made this world come alive in ways no other MMORPG had ever before. The World seemed to know it, too. It breathed in the life and sighed around the characters, like something alive. Silabus knew, dimly, in the back of his mind, the world wasn't really alive, that it was all complex computer code, and if he were to reach up and take the headset off his face, he'd just be staring at his computer's screen saver.

But the world lived around him now, and he took to the Chaos Gate and warped to the Sigma Root Town, Breg Epona. During the next load screen, he took a moment to set his availability to hidden, so that no one would see him as active in their address book. Haseo said tell no one, and if anyone knew he was in game and ignoring them, they might want explanations. He'd rather not lie to his friends, that's all.

Breg Epona was bright. No building for the Chaos Gate, he spawned on a bridge, overlooking nothing but bright, bright blue sky. It took him a moment to adjust to the brightness of the area. He could've dimmed the visual output in his headset, but what fun would that be?

He quickly spun and entered the keywords into the Chaos Gate, leaving almost as soon as he arrived.

Sigma Competing Youngest's Conclusion, according to his knowledge of keyword properties, should be a desert area, islands of sand connected to each other by rock bridges, floating in the sky, as all fields tended to do. But in this field, it was storming hard, wind rushing into his eyes and dragging at his clothes, rain pelting mercilessly into his face. He crouched and shielded his face with his arm, trying to see his friend through the onslaught. Again, he could always have turned down the realism on his headset, connected as it was to the implant in his mind. But it was what made the game so real, even this small echo of real effects on his body. He could feel raindrops hit his back, and the weight of wetness in his hair. It dripped down his face and blurred his sight. How could he ever turn such beautiful effects off, for comfort?

"Haseo!" He shouted through public messaging. There was no one on this field, no one talking, at least. The silence would've been deafening if not for the constant roar of rain hitting rock, the rumbling thunder, lightening cracking so hard through the air around him he shook from it's intensity.

He waited, listened. No response. He wondered if weather conditions actually affected the range of the messaging system. So cool.

He needed to find Haseo, or at least the dungeon, and wait for him there. He had to be careful, however. The level here was so high, if he ran into a group of monsters, he'd have a time of it fending them off by himself. To be honest he thought to himself as he began to navigate through the area, it looks like it'd be difficult going even with Haseo by his side. He spotted a duo of monsters he'd only seen in fanart before, and grimaced. Careful.

Inching along the perimeter, he skirted around the two to the bridge, hoping this was the way to the dungeon. The rain dripping down his back was sending literal chills down his spine. He briefly considered turning the realism down, and in that moment, a pair of large red figures charged him. Battle commence.

"I can take you." Silabus said, drawing his sword. His words were strong, but he wavered, checking how many smoke bombs he had left. None. Crud, he forgot to stock up on items before leaving Breg Epona. "No choice then."

He hurled himself at the first Lava Tail, beginning with a barrage of sword thrusts. He let out the breath he had been holding, glad to see it's HP bar drop.

The other Avian threw itself into a pecking attack from the side, throwing sparks in it's wake. He tried dodging. No use. Still cooling down from his own attack. He defended instead, and took the brunt of the damage.

He winced, letting out a gasp. It felt like having a hot fork prodded into his arms. His HP dropped, his grip on his controller tightened. Not good. It took almost as much damage from him as he did from it's buddy. Their was still some healing items to choose from, but why couldn't he have brought a Harvest Cleric?

An engine roared, and a white shape on a silver steam bike came breaking into the fray, crashing straight into one of the hulking birds.

"Silabus!" Haseo shouted, diving off the bike to Silabus' side, "Are you alright?" His wing mantle cut a line in the rain as he spun to face their foes.

"I am now that you're here!" Silabus replied, morale suddenly high, the pain in his arms and fear at losing experience points fading to the background.

"Ghost Falcon!" Haseo dashed at the two birds, slicing them higher and higher into the sky with his dual swords.

Silabus ran around the edge of the attack, ready to let loose his own, "Razor's Edge!"

They defeated the giant birds, gaining an item of little value.

"Let's go!" Haseo said, excitedly summoning his steambike and hopping on. Silabus took a moment to feel a sense of awe at the bike. The engine had been upped so high, he didn't recognize it. Could that one even be bought in the shops? What was Haseo's rankings in the races again? It seemed absolutely impossible for one player to be so perfect in one go. High level, PK Champion, Guildmaster, and Race Champion? If they had a Chim-kicking competition, he'd be first place in that as well.

"Get on." The blade brandier realized the rogue had been sitting astride the bike, patiently watching him zone out. His gold eyes met and held Silabus's own brown eyes. Yuuichi flushed. It felt like Haseo was staring past the PC and into his own eyes. Silabus heard a small ringing in his left ear, as a text box opened in the corner of his eye.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." He accepted the party invite and climbed on the bike.

Haseo revved the engine and took off. Yuuichi's character instinctively grabbed around Haseo's waist to stay steady, hugging closely. With Haseo lying almost parallel on the bike, it seemed like he was laying on him.

"Ehh!" Silabus squeaked. Without knowing how to make his character let go without jumping off the bike entirely, he left it alone, trying to ignore the growing warmth of Haseo being communicated to his real body. Such personal contact. Is Silabus blushing right now as hard as Yuuichi, Yuuichi thought, confused. He wished he knew how to switch to third person to check, but they were at the dungeon's opening now-

And now they're flying down the stairs of the dungeon. Good.

Haseo shifted slightly, and they came skidding to a stop just before slamming into the rock door. Silabus hurriedly dropped off the bike, gasping, as Haseo calmly slid off and recalled the bike into his inventory.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm alright." Silabus sighed, finally catching his breath, "Just still not used to your driving. I'd hate to see manage a car."

Haseo laughed as he opened the giant door. "Good thing I live in Tokyo. It has so much public transit, it'd be a pain to even park a car, let alone drive one."

"Tokyo..." Silabus mused as he followed Haseo in, "I think you've mentioned that before. How is it, living in such a big city?"

"Don't you live in Sendai, Silabus?" Haseo said, glancing to the side at him, "That's a decently sized city."

Silabus waved it off. "Nowhere near as big as Tokyo, though. That's absolutely massive. I've always thought I should take a trip there sometime. It seems so silly to live so close and never to have been there."

The Outbreak of Battle, as Haseo ran into the next room and clocked a wizard-type monster on the back of the head.

The surprise advantage helped out, as they took care of them quickly. Silabus was suddenly struck at defeating such high levelled monsters. How long had he been playing at around 20-30 before Haseo came into his life? Just some noob role-playing as the Terror of Death, and a year later, he was nearly 140 thanks to that same "noob."

Haseo sighed. "You should visit soon if you're coming. When summer comes, it gets too hot to go anywhere." He walked through the hallway, kicking a stray Chim-Chim as he went. "And the tourists get bad after spring. Can't leave my house without tripping over an American."

Yuuichi considered it as Haseo really dug into his rant about tourists lining his stairway, like literally "laying on the stairs." He _had_ always wanted to visit Tokyo, and there was a Spring Break coming up two weeks from now. He never had a real reason to go, that was the only problem. He was not the type to just go somewhere for fun, and with good reason. He didn't exactly have money problems, but he would if he added lavish vacations to the mix. What with his tuition, rent, all the other things that went into living, and not to mention keeping his World subscription up, and perhaps a technical doodad or another... He really did spend a good chunk of money on this game, didn't he?

Another battle brought them through to the end of the floor. The stairs down looked foreboding, no torches in sconces lining the way down like the halls. Haseo melted into the shadows, lost even with his gleaming white armor within seconds of stepping down.

"Silabus?" Haseo asked, reappearing in front of Silabus. "What's up?"

"I'm considering it. Coming to Tokyo." Silabus plunged into the darkness past him, swirling around the circular stairwell until reaching the puddle of light at the end.

"Yeah?" Haseo said, sounding intrigued.

"I mean, I'd like to," Silabus said, checking for monsters in the next room. Clear. "It's just it'd take a lot of funds. I suppose I might be able to wing it, but it might leave me short this month." He stopped to think in the doorway, watching the group of monsters in the next room meander one way, then the other. "I'd have to look into train prices, and how much a hotel would cost..."

"Seriously?" Haseo stood next to him and raised an eyebrow. "I _live_ in Shinjuku, _and_ I have a guest bedroom."

Yuuichi's jaw dropped. He'd never considered that before. But why would he? He and Haseo, they've been playing this game together for so long, but they've never met in real life. He wouldn't presume on Haseo to put up a stranger on the internet in his own house. Although, stranger...?

Haseo was still watching him, always watching, arms crossed, one gold claw tapping impatiently.

"I-I just-" Silabus stammered, "It, it seems rude to ask." He took his ponytail in hand and began fiddling with it.

Haseo leaned into him. Silabus took a step back, tried to keep the space between them, uncomfortable standing so close to him, but bumped into the wall. "Well, I won't make you ask. Silabus, whenever you come to Tokyo, you are welcome to stay at my house, for as long as you want." He gave a playful grin and added, "I'll even feed you, too."

"Th-That's nice of you to offer." Yuuichi realized he had a lot of saliva in his mouth, why? "But, what about your parents? Wouldn't they be mad if you had people over without asking them?" Haseo sighed, turned to the next room.

"I live alone." He said, shooting a glance at Silabus before heading forward.

Silabus jogged to catch up in time to enter battle at the same time as Haseo. This next bunch, mecha beasts, were noticeably harder to deal with than the ones on the floor before. Haseo even threw a health potion at Silabus's head, exploding into a glittery-fog, his health instantly full again.

"Thanks. Geez, I didn't even notice my health was getting low." He picked up the item the beasts dropped. Armor, nothing fancy, might get a few gold at the guild shop.

"No problem." Haseo continued on without pause.

The next two floors went by with no break between fights. Maybe Haseo needed to be somewhere, and had to finish the level quick?

"Haseo..." Silabus said, at the threshold of the boss room.

Haseo looked sidelong at him, almost warily. "Yeah?"

"What are we here for?"

He chuckled. "You'll see." He reached and touched the great door. It moved thunderously, dust spreading into the air. Yuuichi coughed reflexively.

The boss stood, a giant idol silhouetted against the torches around the cave. It roared to life, stumbling towards them.

It's a high level, but it was slow, and projected it's movements seconds before attacking. Although it was technically the most difficult monster in the area, as long as they were careful to watch for attacks, they were hardly touched. Much easier to deal with than being bombarded by multiple swift beasts.

The beast crumbled into a pile of rocks. Silabus nudged the remnants with one brown boot in hopes of a cool item, but no. Of course not. They ran through to the last small room. A statue of a girl stood overlooking a treasure chest at her feet.

Silabus stopped to watch Haseo open it, but Haseo motioned for him to take it.

"Huh? But I thought you wanted it?"

"I wanted to get it for you."

"Well, that makes no sense!" Silabus said. "Why couldn't we tell anyone we were getting this if it was just going to be for me?"

"...! I'm sorry. That wasn't nice of me. I guess you did do this for me... In your own twisted way." Silabus assumed he was blushed all the way to his toes. What was it about being with Haseo alone that made him so impulsive?

"Open it. You'll understand." Watching, always watching with those gold eagle eyes. Were his red eyes as observant as these? Silabus knelt down and unclipped the metal hooks from the lid, and lifted.

It was almost empty, except for one small item in the bottom. He lifted it into the light. "A Crimson VS card?"

He inspected the specifics of the card, when he reached the rarity, he gasped.

"No way... No way!" Silabus said, amazed. He didn't play Crimson VS himself, but he knew enough that Ultra Rare was the best kind. "This card- Holy shit, Haseo, this is so rare! How did you find this!?" He paused, confused why Haseo bust out laughing.

"Ha hahh," Haseo had another fit of giggles before calming down to stutter, "That was the first time I've ever heard you swear! So, sooo worth it!"

"Ohh." He was always screwing up in front of Haseo. Why couldn't he calm down? Why was he so... embarrassed? No, he's sworn in public before. He watched Haseo, who had sat on the ground next to him, still grinning broadly. He tried to gauge his own reaction to that face, the lean muscled body under stretched armor. Those eyes. What color were his eyes in real life? He was struck with the sudden, strong need of seeing Haseo's eyes in reality.

"Silabus? You've been acting weird all day." Haseo said. "Are you ill?"

Exposed.

The word popped into his head as Haseo spoke. Like he already knew everything Silabus thought, and was just pretending to not know for... what reason? Maybe so he didn't frighten his blade brandishing friend, like a psychic pretending to not know the future.

"No, just thinking." Silabus said, sliding his gloved forefinger down the edge of the card. Although he had already made up his mind. "Why give me a Crimson VS card? I don't play." Odd how the game transmitted that feeling to his mind like he was touching it with his bare finger.

"So you could give it to Gaspard," Haseo said, stretching backwards, armor clanking, his abdominals taut against his clothing. "You like giving things more than getting things, after all. There's not really anything I could give you that you'd be excited about, unless it was for someone else."

Yes, Yuuichi decided. He would go to Tokyo.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: It must be the black leather and anger; I can't help but imagine Haseo goth as all hell.

Ryou sighed, setting his headset down on his desk, swiping his bangs out of his eyes, wispy silver annoyances. It was getting harder to keep from jumping the poor man in game. Silabus was such a good person. Really made Ryou want to mess him up even more. His nose wrinkled at his own depraved mind. That's not a good reaction. I love you, now lick me. What was wrong with him? He set his playlist to shuffle, and a CombiChrist song began thudding through his speakers.

He unfolded himself from his chair, making a list of things he had to do today, flicking the ball of his lip ring with his tongue.

 _It seems rude to ask, Silabus said, looking downward to hide his blush. They stood close in a darkened area, flames flickering distantly, dancing across his face, his eyes shining as as he looked hopefully up at Ryou._

 _Please_ ask me, Silabus, Ryou thought, sitting back down slowly. I so want someone like you in my life. My _real_ life, not just online. Would it be too much to hope the player behind Silabus was into him? He never did talk about any girlfriends, and he did say he was single once. Maybe he'd never had a girlfriend because he wanted boyfriends instead?

The image of Silabus's reddened face, the weight of him on Haseo's back, gripping onto his waist... He groaned, grabbing his growing erection through his pants. He'd never get anything done with this in the way.

Standing just long enough to collapse on his bed, he dropped his jeans and boxers. He grasped himself, wondering if Silabus had ever done this to the thought of him, or even during an adventure together? How cool would it be if Silabus was half the freak Ryou was?

His dick was already so hard, he didn't need to imagine Silabus masturbating while they were alone together, or bending Silabus roughly over his couch, or sucking him off, drool leaking out and forming pools around his balls. Later, he would feel a little guilty about this, but, for now...

He moaned softly, conjuring Silabus in his mind, the real Silabus, who would look just as delicious as in game Silabus, no, definitely sexier than the character he masked himself with, because he'd be real. Ryou could feel his weight pressed over Silabus, rubbing both of their dicks together with one hand, Silabus's virgin cock throbbing, Silabus greedily kissing the life out of him, sucking his soul out like a damned incubus. Ryou heard him moaning his name as he pressed into him from behind, his ass tight and hot, the drugged look on his face pressed into the bed, as he'd pant heavily in ecstasy, looking at him over his shoulder, clenching the sheets as orgasms ripped through him-

He swore, his own orgasm hitting him violently. His cum arced across his bed, wetting his hand as he pumped his fist a few times over his still leaking dick.

"Oops," He said sanguinely when he recovered, eyes half-lidded. Couldn't be helped. Man, was he cumming quicker and quicker these days? Perhaps he should take a day off every once and a while.

So weird. He just came, but he was unsatisfied yet. He was sure, he could have the best orgasm inside that man, bringing his hand to his mouth and licking it clean. An orgasm so earth-shatteringly good... he couldn't finish the thought. So good, what? He didn't know what something like that would feel like. At the very least, it may calm this intense drive, this passion, give him some reprieve.

His own taste weighed on his tongue, salty and bitter. How would Silabus taste?

What if he was a virgin? His mood fell back to earth. He let his head hang back, staring into his ceiling. What if Silabus wasn't comfortable with fucking the first time he meets someone? Or even of a particularly gay persuasion? That part would be the hardest to deal with, if he was just not interested in men. There's no arguing with that, and Ryou just wasn't the "hold them down and make them gay" type.

A depression came over him. He fell backwards from his propped up position and pressed his palms into his eyes. Colorful geometric shapes took the form of the Twilight Bracelet. How could he be so dumb? It wasn't enough that he fell hard for Shino, who wanted nothing like that from him, and Atoli- Chigusa, he corrected himself- he'd recently discovered that men weren't on the menu for her, but now he'll be crushing hard on the straightest man in the entire world. It's not like he'd be torn apart, he thought glancing up at his computer. He heard a ping intermixed with his dubstep. There's only so much shit in life that you can take before a thick skin grows, whether you want it there or not.

He slid off his bed, tossed on some fresh underwear and pants, found a shirt he had nearby, and hopped onto the computer chair to check his email.

He grinned, shaking himself into action. He wasn't extremely satisfied, but for a few hours, he could get some work done. First thing, reply to this very intriguing mail.

Next, he'd go to the sex shop, and buy a few "toys" he'd been meaning to get.

Maybe he'd have some use of them, soon.

0110110000000000101011111110011101000111110101111111011010101000000

Silabus:

Hey, I was thinking about taking you up on that offer. It's still open, right?

Haseo:

Of course. I just offered a few days ago, I wouldn't take it back _that_ quickly. When do you think you'd come?

Silabus:

Spring break is next week. I know it's really soon, but until summer, I won't have much free time after this.  
Haseo:

No problem. Here's my phone number. Text me so I have yours.

Oh, my name is Ryou Misaki, btw. Nice to meet you.

Silabus:

Same here!. My name is Yuuichi Morino, I look forward to meeting you irl. :)

111111111100000010101011111111111111101010111100100101001000000010010000001000

"I'm serious, Taiga-kun. I'm going to Tokyo." Yuuichi said, scrubbing a plate over his sink.

"No, you aren't." Taiga said from the phone cupped in his shoulder. "You don't do things like go nice places for no reason."

"It's not for no reason." Yuuichi said, picking at a particularly stuck spot of... what _was_ that? Might be udon. "Tokyo's a cultural epicenter, and it has a lot of history, and sightseeing alone could keep me busy for weeks."

"So, yeah, I must say, my argument still stands."

Yuuichi rolled his eyes. Philosophy majors, have to debate if gravity exists.

"Oi," Taiga said, sounding a bit disgruntled.

Yuuichi dried his hands, giving up on that task for now."What?"

"Why are you going? I want to know." Yuuichi sighed, taking a seat in his creaky wooden chair at his table, opened his spiral notebook and began a to do list.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" Taiga laughed, mischievously. Yuuichi opened his mouth to deny everything, but Taiga went on, "Yuu-kun's going to pick up some city tail, and doesn't want poor Taiga to know and get jealous? I'm hurt. I thought we were friends."

"That's not fair, Taiga-kun." Yuuichi managed to squeak out. "One thing at a time. I can't-"

"Who is it? I want a name!" Yuuichi heard a small thunk through the speaker, and he assumed Taiga had stomped his foot. Impetuous child. He felt a vein beginning to pop out of his forehead, uncomfortably so. He massaged it down, getting ink on his nose from the pen he forgot he was holding.

"Okay, fine." He took a breath to steel himself. "His name is Ryou."

Silence. That was new, coming from the loud mouth king himself. Yuuichi took the moment to write, _Train ticket, Ryou's address, Pack... oh, no, pack needs sub-labels for all of the things he'd need to pack... which included the train tickets above it_. He chewed on his pen.

He decided to scratch that, and begin anew; _Purchase train tickets, Print train schedule, Ask Ryou for his address, Pack, then listing under that, underwear, pants, shirts,_ wait, how long was he staying? Ask Ryou how many days...? No, that wouldn't do. How do you work out how many days vacation is worth staying for? With Ryou letting him crash at his place, the most expensive part would be the train there and back. It's like a five hour ride, each way. He rested his forehead on the table. At least two days. No, at least three days. Would it be too much to hope, four?

"Are you gay?" Yuuichi shot straight up in his chair, eyes wide, making an unappealing noise. Despite holding the phone to his ear the entire time, he forgot there was someone on the other end.

"Y- Um... I don't... I don't _think_ so." Yuuichi said, uncomfortable with this conversation already.

"If you can't say yes or no immediately, you're at least somewhere in the middle." Taiga began, his lecture voice coming on.

"Okay, maybe... Bi? If you need an answer." A look of meditation crossed his eyes. "Is it... Is it weird I haven't thought about this before? I mean, it seems like something most people have figured out by now." He tugged on his gray hoodie sleeve, threading his thumbs into the holes he'd worn into the cuffs, suddenly cold.

"I'm sorry, Yuuichi-kun, this isn't any of my business." Taiga said, seriously. "Would you like to talk more tomorrow? We can study for the midterms as well."

"Your place or mine?" Yuuichi smiled as Taiga sputtered on the line.

"Oh! Oh, that question!" Taiga proclaimed. "Before, it was so innocent, before I knew my dear Yuuichi-kun was thinking about sex. They grow up so fast!" He became muffled, as if he was blocking the mouth piece with his hand, but Yuuichi could faintly make out him shouting, "Bring a condom, for fuck's sake!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Yuuichi put his phone down gently on the table. He scanned the notebook, his eyes lingering on Haseo's real name. His long fingers slid across the page, resting on the name.

Maybe...

Maybe that's why, why he feels so odd around him.

He picked his phone back up, before turning out the lights in his kitchen, and padding silently through his small dark apartment to sit on his bed, only tripping on one pile of things on the way there. Yuuichi plugged in his charger and placed his glasses next to it on his bedside table. He scooted back against the corner, hugging his knees to his face.

How could he not have thought of this? He felt like such an idiot. What if Ryou didn't want to just hang out? What if he expected something from him? What could Yuuichi give Ryou, when Ryou has given him so much? He heard his heart pounding in his ears. His pressed his eyes shut against the tears.

Dumb, he thought. Why are you sad? Someone likes you. No, not sad, his insides spoke. Confused. So confused. How could he have gone through life, his entire life, not thinking for even a little time what kind of person he'd like to marry? Not even on the most basic level of male or female.

He tried to calm himself, forcing himself to take a large breath, hold, long breathe out, again.

That was better, he supposed, better than hyperventilating and trying to think.

What was it about Haseo... Ryou?

He was around the same age as Yuuichi, possibly even older. Although his past outbursts might have placed him as younger, this recent peace he emanates indicated he's grown and knows himself. That, and teenagers don't usually live alone. If he had to guess, same age, twenty-one.

He's protective of Silabus and Gaspard and Atoli and all the low level players of The World. Why else would he have become a PKK? Although Yuuichi couldn't condone hunting people, he also couldn't stand by while they attacked noobs on the field. So, he was like a big brother. Or a guardian angel, also considering his recent change.

What else... Yuuichi steepled his fingers into an arc, outlined hazily in the glow of the streetlights.

He is _so_ attractive. Yuuichi, wide-eyed, covered his mouth in shock. That was the first time he'd ever thought about someone like that. He knew that some people looked better than others, but to describe it as a force that drew him close; that was something else entirely.

His face had grown hot, but he felt he getting somewhere with this, cupping his cheeks with his hands. Not so hard. Just needed to take a moment to work it out. He set his alarm clock and undressed, undoing his hair and throwing the hair tie on the table.

He had never really been "turned on," by anyone. So maybe that's what he was getting from Haseo. Sexual attraction. He frowned into his pillow. It was just so fucking weird, having this happen right out of the blue like this. Why?

How long had he known Haseo in The World? Two years, now, wasn't it? In that time, he hadn't ever been terrible to Silabus, and on the occasion that he was a bit of a jerk, he came back and admitted how wrong he was, and seemed genuinely remorseful of hurting him.

He's a nice guy, Yuuichi decided. He smiled. He was fond of Haseo. Or Ryou. Whoever that man was, he might find the key to something inside himself he'd never even realized had been locked away, out of his reach. Like a hidden treasure room in a dungeon. He recalled the time the Moon Tree Grunty had gone missing. No one could bring him back, until their party tried it. Atoli had given a really moving speech, and the response from the Grunty was a perfect response. They had only needed a person with the right properties to complete the quest. Maybe Ryou...

A thought. He hesitated, but then reached over his clock and took a couple tissues back under the covers with him.

He had always felt a bit off doing this, but, if he was right about Haseo...

He took his penis in hand, gently stroking it until it stood erect. He felt guilty for how he was about to think about his friend, but... For science, right?

He closed his eyes, and thought of Haseo. Haseo, with his chameleon-like changing from a skinny teenager Twin Blade; the sturdier, more regal, but essentially the same Edge Punisher; the completely awesome yet wrathful Flick Reaper; the white, somehow - redeemed?- Dual Gunner, like all of his past hate he'd been powered by had just been wiped clean. And then this one... It seemed like he had somehow unlocked the Harvest Cleric class as well, seeing that he carried a staff sometimes. Yuuichi had the feeling he didn't want any questions about it, and so didn't carry the staff often. But now, he was... Strong, physically and mentally. Offense and defense, protection in every way a player could manage. How could he not be attracted to someone who's become an expert at several classes more than any other one player? What an amazing feat.

Ugh, focus, he thought, shaking his head clear. He was allowing his video game to distract from the man behind the game. His hand trailed up and down his shaft, slowly, with little pressure. To make this as science as possible, he'd need to become aroused by Haseo more than by his own actions.

His mind thought of hugging Haseo's back on the steambike. Haseo on the grass, in a sunny field, their hips touching as Silabus straddled him. Haseo smiling widely, pleased at this turn of events. One claw reached up and stroked down Silabus's cheek, eyes affectionate, a slight blush on his cheeks. Yuuichi felt a shiver run down his spine, chest aching.

That. That was attraction, without a doubt. He throbbed almost painfully in hand. Just that little bit, the thought of an echo of a touch... He continued.

Haseo drew his claw down from Silabus's cheek to his bare chest, thin, but well-muscled, tracing his wave symbol. Stroked the line down the middle of his abs, then sat up suddenly so their faces were nearly touching, his lips parted, his eyes fixated on Silabus's lips, straining, almost begging, _Please._

Silabus closed the distance between them, Haseo's lips warm and strong against his. Haseo slid one arm around his waist, the other running through his hair, pressing him deeper into his mouth.

"Silabus, I love you." He'd whisper into his ear, licking his earlobe.

He dreamed he'd trail kisses down Haseo's smooth neck, over his wide chest, hand reaching for Haseo's hips. Haseo letting out with a moan as he made contact with a very sensitive area-

"Mmph!" Silabus orgasmed, biting his pillow to muffle the sound of his pleasure. He panted, dazed. _It worked_ , he thought, before cleaning himself off and falling asleep immediately.

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Unknown Number: Is this Ryou? -Y

Ryou: Yep! And I've saved your number, too.

Yuuichi: Good. This will make it easier to collaborate.

Ryou: Absolutely. I wouldn't want you lost in Tokyo without a way to get me.

Yuuichi: Ah, about that. What is your address?

Ryou: No worries, I'll be meeting you at the train station.

Yuuichi: You don't have to do that.

Ryou: I want to do that.

Ryou: Besides, my school also has a break next week; it's not like I'll be doing much anyway.

Yuuichi: Well, thank you! As soon as I have the final train schedule, I'll give you my eta.

Ryou: Sounds good.

...

Yuuichi: How long is it okay for me to stay with you?

Yuuichi: I was thinking three days, if it's not too much trouble?

Ryou: Why not the whole week?

...

Ryou: Yuuichi?

Yuuichi: Sorry, I'm trying to clean a little before leaving, didn't hear the ring.

Yuuichi: Are you really okay with me staying at your house for a week?

Yuuichi: I mean, I'd love to, but...

Ryou: But?

Ryou: If you're going through the trouble of coming here, might as well enjoy it, ne?

Yuuichi: Yeah. I suppose so.

Yuuichi: Thank you again, for all of this. :)

Ryou: It's my pleasure.

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"Hey, Ryou-kun!" Chigusa prodded his elbow with her pencil. "Quit texting! You said you would help me study for this test." He sent the message and pocketed his phone. They were sitting on the floor at the low table, Chigusa sitting on her legs like a proper Japanese, while Ryou sat cross-legged. They were surrounded by walls of books, musty and inviting. Birds chirped peacefully in the next room over. The sheer white curtains wafted softly with the spring breeze, sunset falling golden outside the window. A small window box held tiny seedlings, still too young to identify.

"Yeah, I know, I know." He picked up his own pencil and did a quick steeple chase.

"Shino-san's no good at math, or I'd ask her for help." Chigusa went on, disappointed in this fact.

"I actually think she shanghai'd me into helping with her math as well." Ryou sighed melodramatically, balancing his pencil on his nose, watching it cross-eyed.

"Eh? You're only a high school senior, how would you know college math already?" Chigusa asked, frowning, picking at the cuffs of her uniform. She went to a different school in the area, their uniform was gray blazers and the girls wore red plaid skirts. Red wasn't exactly Chigusa's color, but it looked good on her.

His uniform, on the other hand, black, straight black. He would've enjoyed some sort of decoration, some emblem, or at least have the girls wear cute skirts, but no. Knee length, my butt, he twirled his pencil between the thumb and forefinger of both hands, a sour expression on his face.

"Where are you looking, hentai!?" She shouted, mushing his face into the table.

Chigusa nabbed the pencil from his still twitching hand. "You can have this back when I understand algebra!"

They're attention shifted to the door as keys jangled in the lock.

"Tadaima!" Shino announced, tiredly, kicking off her black pumps past the foyer. She wore a white blouse with a black pencil skirt and matching blazer.

Chigusa sprang up immediately. "Okaerinasai!" She pushed her long blonde hair out of the way before taking Shino's purse, and a bag of groceries. "Are you feeling alright? You look tired. You should get a nap in. I'll wake you when dinner's ready, sound okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Shino said, waving her off. "You worry so much, Chigusa-chan."

"I can't help it, you need someone to worry over you." She smiled brightly.

"Oh, hello Ryou-kun." She said as Chigusa hurried about, putting away groceries. Ryou waved. "Is it already exam time in the high schools? My, that means I'll need to start cramming soon." She said, smiling at Ryou. He felt a shiver go up his back. _Evil eye._

"Chigusa-chan is right, Shino-san." They both looked at him, confused, "You do look tired." He stood. "I should leave so you can rest."

"Eh, Ryou-kun?" Chigusa's eyes burned as she turned on him, "You promised me math!"

His phone vibrated then. A stand off. Ryou's hand itched to grab it, but they'd know then. Blood in the water to women.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Shino sat on her white couch, putting a glass of water down on the table.

"Oi, were you trying to cut study time short so you can go meet your girlfriend?" Uh oh, Chigusa was quiet, her bangs hiding her eyes. _Aw, crap, I don't want to die today!_

"No no, it's a friend, a friend!" Chigusa, with surprising nimbleness for such a frail-looking girl, jumped, hit him square in the chest, brought him down, and slid her hand down his butt-

And pulled his phone out and flipped it open. Shino blushed, letting out a small, "Oh my."

"Uh, Ryou-kun." She said, clicking through the message, "I hate to break it to you, but Yuuichi is a guy's name." Ryou freed himself with one upward motion, not entirely unlike a kipup, causing Chigusa to slide off him. Irritatingly, she was still scrolling through his messages.

"That's so rude, Chigusa-chan!" He shouted, yanking his phone away from her. She merely laid on the floor and eyed him curiously.

"Shino-san." She said after a pause.

"Yes, dear?"

"I think he's gone completely daft."

Oh, shit. A sense of doom fell over him. What did he message to Yuuichi to cause her to watch him like that?

"Why's that?" Shino prompted her.

"He's inviting strange men over to his house." She popped up and stood on her tiptoes, getting her face as close to his as possible.

"You wouldn't really be that silly, now, would you, Ryou-chan?" She asked him, accenting her words with a poke to his cheek. It digs, why is her nail so long?

"Don't jump to conclusions." He said, pushing her finger away.

"Well, what _is_ going on, then, if you don't mind explaining?" Shino asked.

Ryou blushed, fingering his phone open, glancing at the message.

 _Yuuichi: I've never actually heard of any of those bands. I'll look them up when I get to a computer next._

He sat next to Shino on the couch, thumbs poised over the keys. He hesitated, looking sidelong at Shino. She was always easier to approach than Chigusa, less judgmental.

 _Ryou: I'm going to tell you now, they're probably not your taste. Meaning they aren't part of The World OST._

Send. He flipped it shut again. The silence was palpable.

"Oi, can you..." He propped his chin on his palm, his eyes becoming thoughtful, "How can you tell if someone is gay?"

Chigusa, he assumed, had a heart attack, collapsing on the floor, wriggling around and sputtering. If this were a manga, she'd be a chibi. Chibigusa.

He and Shino shared a glance. They knew for pretty certain Chigusa was still deep in her closet, but they'd let her come out when she was ready, without pushing it. So it was that they also never mentioned that Ryou was bi. She didn't need to know that yet, either.

"Mm? Well, is your mysterious man also very beautiful, or womanly?" Shino asked, a small smile playing on her lips as Chigusa hurriedly excused herself from the room.

"It's Silabus." He said softly when he heard Chigusa's door slam. The birds tweeted furiously for a brief moment, then returned to their quiet, occasional chirps.

"Ah." Shino smiled a little wider, taking a sip of water. "You may have something there. He doesn't notice women, and I've never heard of him giving any attention to one person in particular. Excepting you, of course."

His chest swelled. "Thank you." His phone buzzed. "It does mean a lot to me that you think that." He stood.

"But Ryou." He turned to her, clicking his barbell against his teeth. "It means more what you think about him, ne?"

He blushed a darker red this time. "Yes, I suppose it does. But, what if he...?"

Shino's smile became sad. "You'll pull though, Ryou. You're strong like that."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A/N: The song featured in this episode of Boy's Love, .hackiverse version, is brought to you by Interface, called "Never Say Farewell." Give it a listen!

Yuuichi: Why is leather armor so good for sneaking?

Ryou: Um, it's lighter than metal?

Yuuichi: No, it's because it's literally made of hide!

Ryou: Lol, where'd you hear that one?

Yuuichi: The forums. They have a ton of joke threads.

...

Ryou: Do you do anything on the net that isn't involved with The World?

Yuuichi: Sure, I have to get my research for essays from somewhere.

Yuuichi: Some of my classes are online, too. Even the ones that aren't, I still have to submit homework online for most of them.

Ryou: Weird. They don't make you hand it in during class?

Yuuichi: I think they do it so professors don't have to deal with excuses for why students don't have homework on time.

Yuuichi: To be submitted by midnight on Saturday. Had two weeks to do it. No excuses. You know?

Ryou: I guess.

...

Ryou: So, you don't have like a Facespace or anything?

Yuuichi: Oh, well, I do, but I hardly ever check it.

Ryou: Eh, that's okay. Here's the link to mine, friend me, okay? :)

Yuuichi: Alright!

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Yuuichi settled back into the booth's dark pleather seat, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He wasn't all that keen on waking up early when his body was screaming, "No, you fool! Spring break means no early mornings! Gaming all night!"

He could play The World the entire train ride, he soothed his inner addict. It calmed a little, still miffed that it couldn't happen in the dead of night. Why does that matter? He was arguing with himself. Stop it.

He opened his laptop. How terrible would this have been if trains didn't have wifi? Probably not so bad, honestly. He had a few essays he could work on saved to his laptop, and he had a book, which he was taking notes from for a larger project, an opinion piece on the future of people and technology.

Obviously, he was intrigued by it. He felt like he was running when he pressed the joystick forward in The World, but never got tired. Just for things like video games, it was inconceivable only a few years back. He couldn't imagine how it would have been to just sit and watch a screen without feeling like you were in the game. Monsters wouldn't be scary, people would be just another text box on the screen... It was almost pointless. Which is probably why he dropped every other game he had been playing when The World R:2 came out. The first one looked okay, but it did have all of those people falling into comas, so he wasn't too fired up about trying it. By the time the second came out, most people had decided that the coma thing was unrelated. Yuuichi wasn't so sure, but he tried it once, and now could not leave.

It could be a time bomb, he thought glumly, hooking up his headset. For all he knew, the software that connected the implants to the game may actually fry it under certain conditions, or if you play for too long, or encounter a glitch... Scary thought. When the game glitched once on him, he was thrown up into the air by a strong wolf beast attack and essentially couldn't get back down, walking around in the air at a height that could have been the second floor, if that field had a second floor. Gaspard and his other party member, a frightened young Macabre Dancer named Senpuu, absolutely flipped, sent a bug report to the admins each. Pi had warped into the area right next to the two seconds after they sent them. _"One report is enough, thank you."_ She looked him over a bit, twitched her glasses, and said that he'd be fine, he'd just have to log out and log back in again. She then stayed with the two Wave-users until he warped back into the zone, on the correct playing field. On top of that, she also each of them a five-hundred yen coupon to use in the game shop for reporting the glitch.

It could have been far worse, he knew. That might have been the start of going comatose. What if it wasn't safe to log out right then, what if the admin altered the game temporarily so that he wouldn't fry his implant? He didn't know.

But that fear, although in his mind often, just wasn't good enough to stop playing. Most of his closest friends played. It felt like home.

He didn't log in just that moment. The train began moving, and he watched the busy Sendai station zip away. A large black bird flew by the window, going the same direction as the train, but falling behind. The sunrise reflected on the clouds, creating layers of orange and pink intertwined with blue and purple. Maybe he should wake up earlier, jogs would be more pleasant if he got to see this every day.

His phone beeped. He felt like he was being trained in some Pavlovian experiment, as he had grown such an immediate reaction to it. He never used to be such a texter, but now he understood the people who texted in class, at meals, etc.

 _Ryou: Noon? That's fast. Are you already on your way?_

Yuuichi quickly typed out an affirmative and sent it.

He had to get a hold of himself. He could not be so obviously crushing on Ryou when they met later. Ryou would think he only had one thing on his mind, and, while it was a _large_ part of what he thought about, all day, every day, it wasn't the _only_ thing on his mind.

I should play to clear my mind, he thought, picking up his headset from the seat next to him.

He put it back down as he remembered he never did send a friend invite to Ryou on Facespace. He got that text late last night, and had no time to mess around when he had to get up so early.

He typed in the link, and frowned. Private. The only thing he could see was Ryou's name and his profile picture, but it was just a two lines of fire in the dark.

 _Yuuichi: Your profile picture is fire?_

 _Ryou:Yeah. Forgot to mention._

 _Ryou: It's hard to see, but I am in that picture, too._

Good enough for Yuuichi. He sent a friend invite to Ryou. He was about to check the news for a moment, but the page refreshed, and was full of information. He wondered if Ryou had been waiting for it.

Do I occupy his mind, as much as he does mine?

Age, eighteen, no birthday listed. Yuuichi was shocked. Just eighteen? But he lives alone in an expensive city and goes to school. How the hell does he afford that? He didn't think he had a part time job or anything. He was in game almost as much as Yuuichi, and he knew he had no extra time for anything.

Gender, male. Obviously.

No "interested in" listed. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing, or if he just thought it was obvious.

Lives in Tokyo, attends Akiba high school. Yuuichi's heart beat into his throat. Jesus, that was an elite academy, it was in the news often enough for the accomplishments of it's students almost as much as famous universities. He always thought the students there were all rich geniuses, and if their sports accomplishments were anything indication, they were all Olympians in the making. It wouldn't make sense for Ryou to attend if he also wasn't like that. But that would explain why money wasn't a problem for him. He must have rich parents.

Favorite games: The World. Yuuichi grinned. It was the only game listed.

Favorite books: Basho's Journey. That was a classic, written by a poet. He never thought Ryou would be so literary.

Favorite music: More than three hundred bands were listed, and... mixed. What an eclectic taste, Yuuichi thought, scrolling through the list. There were a few he recognized from Ryou mentioning them in text. Interface, VNV Nation, Alice Nine, Dir En Grey, Assemblage 23, Marilyn Manson, god, this boy was dark. Then Vivaldi, out of nowhere. One, their icon in bright rainbow bubble letters, Party Cannon, seemed out of place. Tatu? The russian lesbians? Gotye, Aesthetic Perfection, Katy Perry, The Cure, Def Leppard, The Azoic. It made no sense. Like he's trying to confuse anyone who sees this.

He scrolled to the photos entry, having held back his enthusiasm long enough. He needed to see this guy's face.

The fire picture, his icon, he clicked on first. When the full size picture loaded on his screen, he could make out the faint red outline of a person in between the two lines of fire. He clicked over for the next one. A daylight picture, someone who looked strongly like Haseo, holding two staves in an intimidating pose, like he was about to whack the person holding the camera. But he was smiling, his eyes, dark, amused. A ring on the right side of his bottom lip glimmered darkly. He had gray hair, straight and of a medium length, bangs falling almost into his eyes. He had a silver piercing in the top of his ear that looked like a spike. His top looked like a white sleeveless hoodie. After that, baggy black jeans, plain black shoes, muscled, unadorned arms- Wait a minute. Yuuichi squinted through his glasses at the picture. Did he- yes, he had a red tattoo in the shape of his wave symbol on his upper arm. That tattoo made him giddy. He had also considered a wave symbol tattoo, but since his character had none, he couldn't decide on any of them. That, and he was afraid of getting one. Ryou was so confident, so-

He was gorgeous, he thought, blushing at seeing this guy in real life. Yuuichi wondered how long it's been since this picture was taken. The poster, a girl named Chigusa Kusaka, posted it to Ryou's wall two weeks ago, with the caption "Ryou out for blood at the Poi Festival in Ikebukuro!" Ryou had liked it. A few people commented on it, one reading, "omg i saw you dance, you rocked! :O", another, "Marry me!"

Poi? He slowly realized there was a girl in the background, holding two balls on strings, talking to a girl with a hula hoop slung over her shoulder. What is this? Ryou seemed to have a strange hobby. Dance...

He backed out past the pictures and back to the overview. There were a couple of videos, their thumbnails just spots of multicolored lights in the dark. He read the captions, "Poi Fest competition first place winner, Nanase!", "Poi Fest competition second place winner, Ryou!" Click.

He switched out his headset for normal ear buds, and clicked play.

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Cheering played loudly as a lady with glow sticks on strings left the platform.

A lady announcer in a red dress stepped onto the stage and boomed, "Let's hear it one more time for Nina!" Whoops and cheers made the audio fuzz out, and a few women made high-pitched undulating cries. As it died down, the announcer continued. "Alright, ya'll have seen poi, some hoop action, some swordplay, and some weird chick with fans, I dunno..." A girl in the audience shouted, "Shut _up_ , Erika!" Everyone laughed. She continued, "But now, we're in for a treat, a nice, toasty treat." She purred the last few words. A woman right next to the camera holder whooped. "Here's a guy that likes playing with fire. Yes! We have an honest-to-god pyromancer in the house! Give it up for Ryou, wielding his double staff!"

Ryou hopped on the stage holding the two sticks in one hand. The lights in the area went out. The crowd had gone nearly silent, only a few whispers could be heard. A small dot of light gleamed, the only thing the camera picked up. The small dot bloomed into a line of fire, as music began thudding through the speakers.

The outline of Ryou tossed the lighter off to the side. He touched the fire and brought some away with his hand. He lit the other end of his sticks with the fire in hand, and shook his hand, extinguishing the flame. The sticks were two-thirds covered in fire now, leaving only the middle third for him to handle safely.

He began spinning the staves slowly, matching the pace of the music at the beginning, technical and precise. The music hit the first chorus with an increase in speed, and Ryou exploded into motion. He encircled himself with fire, one moment lit up in the light, the next just a silhouette in front of the flames. He traced giant flowers and stars around him, gone within seconds. Nearing the end of the video, he threw one staff far into the air, the camera following it twenty feet up, before it zoomed back into Ryou's hand. The audience screamed.

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"Oh shit," Yuuichi finally exhaled as the music stopped. _Ryou took a bow before hopping off the stage, staves still burning._

 _"Wooow." The announcer said. "That is going to be one tough act to follow. Ryou, everyone!"" More cheering. A girl's voice near the camera said, "Ryou-kun, you killed it!"_

That's real, he thought, suddenly scared. He was going to visit a dangerous, sexy-looking, rich genius who danced with fire. Yuuichi could both not believe how amazing this guy was, and how pathetic he must seem by comparison.

He would have contented himself to degrading himself, if not for the fact that this was his friend. Ryou would like him even if he smelled and had no teeth. Yuuichi wouldn't be any type of attractive at that point, but they'd still enjoy each other.

Each other's company, _company_ , he blushed furiously, both for having the thought and being so turned on by the thought. He glanced at the clock and sighed. Four and a half hours to go, and he was already having difficulties. Good thing his laptop was on his lap, or he'd feel indecent.

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Ryou stared at his phone, sitting with his legs dangling at the top of a brick wall that lined the exit of the train station. He chewed his lip nervously. Yuuichi had next to no pictures of himself on his Facespace; he wasn't kidding when he said he didn't use it, not even a profile pic was set. Thank goodness some of his friends who were better acquainted with the website still tagged him in a few pictures. It was okay that they were mostly group pictures, he knew Silabus, and Yuuichi wasn't much different. The only thing that was noticeably different was his eyes, behind plain black frames, were a bright, electric green instead of the brown they were in game.

Other than that, so fucking hot. He knew he would be.

Ryou looked into photo Yuuichi's eyes, his heart beginning to pound harder. He quickly flipped it shut and pocketed it. It was noon, and he wanted to get the drop on him.

"Um, Ryou-san?" A familiar voice came from directly below him. He looked down in shock as he found Yuuichi's confused, yet amused face. "Would you mind coming down? My neck can't handle this."

Time stretched for Ryou as he drank in Yuuichi's appearance. Light green zip-up hoodie, blue jeans, white sneakers, brown woven belt. Glasses, bright, bright green eyes. Light brown hair, little more than shoulder-length, gathered into a loose ponytail. Kind face. He had a black rolling suitcase with him, as well as a brown leather messenger bag. A little unkempt-looking, but other than that-

 _Nice._

He hopped down.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Yuuichi stepped from the train station into Tokyo at noon, the sun high but ineffective, air still crisp. He took a deep breath. The air was clear, clean, no trash on the ground at all, everyone in the crowd walking quickly, no motion wasted. He already liked this city.

"Did you see that guy?" A girl with a cute bow in her hair twittered at her friend.

"Oh my god. The goth dude?" Her friend responded as they walked past Yuuichi into the station. "He is sooo hot! I wonder what it'd be like to date a man with piercings?"

"Ah, your mother would freak!" Their conversation fell into the crowd's hum.

Yuuichi glanced around, knowing that he had to be close, and found none other than Ryou lazily hanging off a brick wall, maybe eight feet high. He had a black school uniform on, blazer open and white dress shirt with the top button undone. Yuuichi retreated to the edge of the wall, so he could watch him for a moment. It wasn't so that he could build up the courage, he told himself. Ryou flipped his phone open, then flipped it shut again. He chewed his lip, the piercing catching Yuuichi's eyes. As he watched him, he realized that Ryou looked nervous, anxious, even? It struck him as odd, then in a second, figured it out. He's just a normal person. He has fears and weaknesses like everyone else, no matter how idealized he looked to an outside observer.

Ryou was scanning the crowd for him, he noticed. Well, he's got to meet him sometime, not like he could turn back now.

"Um, Ryou-san?" He asked, hesitating with the honorific. Ryou started, looking down at him, eyes wide with shock. Oh god, those eyes. Like black holes. He felt like if he stared for too long, he would get sucked in and never be able to escape, so he continued. "Would you mind coming down? My neck- it can't handle this."

Ryou paused for a moment, looking Yuuichi in the eyes, like he was appraising him. Yuuichi felt a pressure rise in his chest.

With a quick motion, Ryou broke eye contact and jumped down from the wall.

"Eep!" Yuuichi said, "Are you okay!?" But Ryou was standing, turning to face him, with a trace of amusement in his eyes, as if to say, _of course_ I'm alright. Yuuichi noticed how much bigger Ryou was than he was. Maybe 6'5", so six inches taller, and built.

"Yeah, I'm good. Nice to finally meet you." Ryou said, reaching out his hand. He had a silver ring on his forefinger, and three thin black rubber bracelets, hidden until the sleeve was pulled back. Yuuichi took his hand hesitantly. Ryou pulled him into a quick hug. He smelled so good, like leather and body spray. "Scared?" He asked as he let go, grinning at Yuuichi's expression.

Far from it, Yuuichi thought, as he said, "Oh no, not at all. You're just a bit uh... darker than I thought you'd be." He scratched his cheek. "Heh, no offense."

Ryou smirked, only the side of his mouth with jewelry in it going up. "You'll have to try harder than that to offend me." He reached past Yuuichi and took his suitcase, collapsing the long handle and picking it up. "Come on, we're going to need a taxi." He caught Yuuichi's eyes with his, some quick emotion flicked past before he looked away and began walking.

"Yeah, sure." Yuuichi said, following. He counted at least three piercings on his ears. What else has he pierced?

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Ryou was trying intensely not to blush. Not only did he hug him- oh god why, why!?- but he also had the strong urge to jump him as soon as their eyes met, so close to each other. He didn't think he'd have any chance with this man if he forced himself on him now. Poor Yuuichi, I'm sorry for what I'm probably going to do to you, very soon. I don't want to screw this up, keep it together. Friendly.

"How far is your place from here?" Yuuichi asked as they arrived at the curb.

Ryou threw an arm out and said, "Uh, about ten blocks over."He said, hopping into the cab that appeared almost magically. Yuuichi adjusted his bag and slid in beside him.

"Where to?" The taxi driver asked, and Ryou gave him directions to a house just before an intersection.

Ryou had pushed Yuuichi's suitcase up to the far end of the seat, so they could talk without the thing between them. And so Ryou could sit just that much closer to his new friend. He turned to Yuuichi, resting his arm on his suitcase, asking, "So, did you have anything you wanted to do in particular first?"

Yuuichi's eyes were huge. "Um, not really." He said, tentatively, "I do want to check out a few museums and art exhibits, and the old temple. And I heard the square was a great place to watch street performers." He looked embarrassed after saying that. Ryou's eyes narrowed. So, he's seen my performance? Good. Yuuichi quickly continued, "Ah, and I wanted to try out some of the sushi, I hear it's amazing in Tokyo."

The taxi driver added in, "If you don't mind, there's a decent historical tour every day around the area."

Yuuichi relaxed with the driver's inclusion. "Oh? That's good to know." And he meant it. "If there's nothing else going on one of these days, I can work one of those in."

Ryou glanced out the window. He's going to miss it. They always miss it, the first time, damned trees.

"Slow down." Ryou commanded. The driver slowed, not arguing. "There. You see it? On the left." They passed a few small trees that hid the opening to his street.

"Eh? That's a driveway."

"Yeah, that's the one."

The driver turned down it obediently, and it circled through a small park, but then the trees parted and they came upon Ryou's house. Mansion. Whatever you call it.

"Thanks." Ryou said, peeling a few bills out of his wallet and handing them to the driver, who thanked him, addressing him as "Young master." Ugh. He glanced at Yuuichi, who seemed to be in absolute awe. "Oi." He said, prodding Yuuichi's shoulder with one finger, "Come on."

Ryou exited the vehicle, slinging Yuuichi's suitcase over his back with one arm. Yuuichi slowly exited the vehicle from his side.

"Are you serious?" Yuuichi said. The driver took off, circling around in front of the house's koi pond before going back past them."You live _here?_ "

"Yeah, this is it." Ryou said, standing next to Yuuichi. "You were probably wondering why I wanted to escort you from the train station instead of giving you my address." He nodded towards the house. "This is why. You'd probably think I gave you a fake address as a prank or something." He walked off to the right side of the house.

"Eh? Wait, where are you...?" Yuuichi asked, still confused.

"I don't live in the entire house. I have separate apartments." Ryou said, as he stopped at a brown door, digging in his pocket before bringing out a keychain with a dozen keys and a small blue grunty toy on it. He saw Yuuichi smile out the corner of his eye, as he unlocked the door and motioned him inside.

"Welcome to my home." Yuuichi stepped past him into the warm darkness of his foyer.

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Ryou led Yuuichi, narrating the obvious the entire way, past the living room, the kitchen off the living room, up the stair way between the two rooms, the guest bedroom was the first door in the hallway, where he set Yuuichi's suitcase at the foot of the bed.

"This one will be yours." Ryou said, turning back and exiting the room. Yuuichi took a quick look around, setting his bag on the bed. It actually seemed really comfortable, the bed was so soft and bigger than his own at home. He was just glad the entire room wasn't in black, but in more homey browns and tans and creams. A long, low, wooden dresser edged the side of the room next to the door, a long mirror hanging above it. The curtains were a creamy, heavy lace, framing the tall window, next to the head of the bed. The bed had a brown and tan intricately-designed comforter, white sheets. The entire room smelled of wood and dust, like the door wasn't often opened, only to be cleaned and closed away again. Pleasant.

He looked out the door to find Ryou waiting for him off the side, arms crossed. "Not done with the tour yet." He said in explanation. He led Yuuichi down the hall, pointing out the bathroom, and "My room's upstairs." He said opening the door. He led Yuuichi up dark stairs that paralleled the ones below. Yuuichi was strongly reminded of the stairs in the dungeon, how Haseo had just dived in. Ryou must be so used to climbing up and down in darkness, Yuuichi mused, it must not bother him. Light shone in as Ryou opened the door at the top.

The first shock was that it was white, band posters on the walls, yes, but the walls were white underneath it. The room was an upside-down V, the ceiling a point at the middle of the room, and slding downwards until a point only three feet above the floor. A huge window was on the far wall- no, wait, that's a door. Ryou walked past his bed and his computer desk, and rolled the door to the side, stepping onto the balcony.

"You have a balcony." Yuuichi said, as he followed Ryou. The room was clean, organized. Bed had black sheets, black and white geometric blanket, and wasn't made, Yuuichi thought, imagining him sleeping in it only a few hours ago. He wondered if he looked as scary asleep as he did awake. His feet sunk into the thick carpeting, dark blue stippled with lighter blues.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Ryou said, as Yuuichi joined him outside, leaning on the railing.

"Oh, wow!" Yuuichi exclaimed. He couldn't help it. Although they were only three stories up, they were also at the top of a hill. There was great view of the metropolitan center, skyscrapers rising high, electronic advertisements flashing light into the dark roads between the buildings. Sometime between leaving the train station and here, the sky had darkened like twilight, leaving an orange tinge like sunset had come early, lightning flashing over the city. He turned to look at the remainder of the house from this vantage point. The highest floors might be four, five stories high, but there looked to be a tower higher than that protruding from the middle of the house.

"Huh. I guess I won't be doing any walking tours today." Yuuichi said, noting the weather. Looking straight up, the clouds looked like a painting, smudges dark and gray on a pale, pale blue background.

"Yeah." Ryou said, glancing over. "I can find ways to entertain you inside, though."

Yuuichi met his gaze. In the low lights of the sun, his eyes shone golden.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Yuuichi's eyes widened, he blushed, and his lips parted as he looked at Ryou, like he was some sort of predator.

And maybe I am, he thought, brushing his bangs out of his eyes, and walking inside again.

"Eh?" Yuuichi asked.

"It's going to rain, real soon. We should get going."

"Oh! Oh right. Coming." He hurried inside. Ryou rolled the glass door back, and locked it. He turned, but Yuuichi was right behind him. He blushed, taking a step back, suddenly uncomfortable standing so near.

"You're probably hungry, though, huh?" Ryou asked quickly. "There's an amazing sushi bar down the street... wanna go? My treat."

"Oh, sure." Yuuichi said, looking down. Like he was disappointed about something.

"Hey." Ryou said, stepping closer once more.

Yuuichi's head jolted up. "Yeah?"

"Is there, well, something, wrong?" He scratched the back of his head, other hand on hip. "You don't look comfortable with something."

Yuuichi's attention, moments ago completely on his eyes, fell to his mouth. He leaned in. _Eh, eh, so soon!?_ Ryou panicked.

"Stick out your tongue." Yuuichi asked, or maybe it was a demand. Ryou stuck out his tongue, silver barbell reflecting in Yuuichi's eyes.

"Did it hurt?"Ryou left his tongue sticking out, to show just how he felt about that question.

"I mean, compared to all the other- The piercings!" Yuuichi said, his voice getting a little shriller with every new attempt at words.

Ryou pulled his tongue into his mouth, but left the top ball out, rolling it between his lips as he mused. Yuuichi was absolutely captivated, his eyes following the glint of metal.

"I'd have to say the fear was the worst for this one," Ryou said, indicating his mouth. He walked by Yuuichi and sat crosslegged on his bed. He patted the bed beside him. Yuuichi blushed like a bride on his- her- wedding night, and curled up onto the bed. He's like a cat, Ryou thought, spinning to face him. "But I'd have to give this puppy winner for most pain overall." He said, bringing the top of his left ear forward and playing with the spike that went through two different spots of his cartilage.

"Why?" Fascinating man.

"Besides the fact it's two piercings at once, they're at a weird angle and connected." He played with his tongue piercing, pressing it in on the roof, then the bottom of his mouth. Yuuichi is hypnotized. Ryou regretted not having more piercings to show off. "Most single piercings will have a slightly different angle on them, but as long as the one bar or ring goes in and heals, it doesn't matter. Industrials, well, if the angle is a little off on one of them, it hurts like a bitch to have it heal itself right. Like braces, except instead of teeth, it's cartilage." That, and the three times daily salt water rinses. Just the memory made him flinch.

He eyed Yuuichi. He seemed honestly interested in all of this. Fun. Ryou grinned, "Want to get one?"

That snapped Yuuichi back. "Eh, me? Piercing? Oh, no, I don't think-"

"I'm kidding." Ryou calmed the poor guy.

"You were?" Yuuichi asked.

"Ha! No, you'd look cute with an earring. Although..." He trailed off, waiting for him to take the bait.

"Although what?" Yuuichi deadpanned.

"Maybe you'd be more of a tattoo guy anyway." Yuuichi glanced away. Bingo. "You do want a tat!" Ryou accused him, fangs bared in a evil grin.

"Well, yeah, maybe someday. I wouldn't know what to get now."

"I know what you should get." Ryou said.

Yuuichi looked to him, a bit frightened-looking.

"Okay, I know it'll seem like I'm a mind-reader, having just met you in real life and all." Ryou disclosed, leaning in conspiratorially. "However, you one hundred percent want a wave symbol tattoo."

"How did you know that!? I've never told anyone that!" He leaned in, melodramatically.

"Because tribals are common, and The World gives you good reason to do it." Probably one of the more common tribals with kids these days, too. "Want to see mine?"

"Yes." No hesitation. Awesome.

Ryou switched to sitting on his knees, unbuttoning his shirt.

"Why are you wearing a uniform today?" Yuuichi asked, "I thought you didn't have school today."

"Not the usual classes, but cram school decided to "cram" one more class in." He made air quotes around cram, not about to tell him about special tutoring sessions he'd needed for having such abyssal grades. He shrugged his shirt off his shoulders, letting it rest on his elbows, angling his left shoulder at Yuuichi.

His wave symbol, a mix between a gear and a target, he modified a bit. He had the artist create it with minimalist feathers hanging from it, like a dream catcher. It had three centers where the target lines began and spiralled out instead of the gear-look. He had chosen to have it in all the same red color as the original, shading and highlights the only change in color.

"Wow, so cool!" Yuuichi fawned. "It's different, but still!"

"Yeah, I wasn't about to get just a circle. It might have been alright if I was more into Buddhism or something, but it needed something else."

Yuuichi made a move to touch it, then pulled his hand back.

"You can touch it if you want." Ryou said, a bit embarrassed. This situation, him half naked, an older man perched on his bed, him saying he could touch "it;" It was a little more exciting than any other place he'd been in a while. Fetish clubs and raves, they were exciting, but he never blushed whenever scantily-clad women and men wiggled close to his crotch, not anymore, at least. He could feel his face was too hot, but he forced himself calm.

"It probably doesn't feel any different than the rest of your skin." Yuuichi remarked, his hand caressing Ryou's ink against his will. "Oh, you _can_ feel it, it's raised up more."

"Feel this, too." Ryuo said, taking Yuuichi's hand and guiding it up to his ear. Yuuichi did as instructed and brushed his fingers against the spiked circular barbell in his lobe, the captured bead ring in his orbital, and the industrial through his upper cartilage.

"Does it hurt?" He asked gently touching the ring. Ryou pinched the barbell in his lobe and tugged, slightly. "Ah! Okay, I get it, I get it, it doesn't hurt!"

Yuuichi paused, his hand hesitant, but decided on trailing from his ear to Ryou lips.

"Why... do you like all of this?" He asked, touching the ring in his bottom lip with his thumb. It was Ryou's turn to be awestruck. Sure, he pretty much forced him to touch the other piercings, but he should be a bit more hesitant to touch his mouth. Ryou relaxed into his palm, allowing Yuuichi to rotate it slowly.

"Want to feel my tongue, too?" Ryou asked, quietly. He heard Yuuichi's breath hitch, his fingers moving away. Ryou sighed. Came on too strong, knew it.

"Are you..." Yuuichi began asking, then stopped.

"What's that?" Ryou asked.

"Well, are you- are you gay?"

"Yeah, I mean, bi, but..." Ryou thought of something, "I thought I had that set on my Facespace profile. It's not there?"

"No, it's not." Yuuichi was relieved about something, like he couldn't guess.

Ryou thought hard for a second before remembering, smacking himself in the face, swirling his legs crossed. "Oh my god, I remember now! Chigusa..." he giggled, running a hand through his hair, "Ah, I used to date a girl named Chigusa, but she's not, well, she doesn't swing in the male direction. But she's super in the closet about it, and she even has a hard time dealing with people around her who are gay. Grew up really conservative. Anyway, to avoid freaking her out, anymore than she already was at me," he said, indicating the metal in his ear, "I hid that. I must have never turned that back on."

"Oh." Oh, indeed. What a tale.

"Sorry, probably shouldn't be talking about past relationships." He smirked, pulling his shirt back up onto his shoulders and buttoning it. "Now that we're going to go on a date."

"Eh, date?" Yuuichi cupped his face in his hands. "I don't- I mean..."

Ryou hopped off the bed, swinging around to face his friend, his face close to Yuuichi's. "Don't tell me I was wrong about you, Yuuichi?" No honorific. That Ryou-san earlier had been itching under his skin for too long. Yuuichi noticed, eyes widening, scared, but curious. Ryou was right.

"Um, sure. We can go on a date." Yuuichi said, shifting uncomfortably. But probably oh so pleased with himself, too.

Ryou bent over, placing his hands on the bed on either side of Yuuichi, their faces less than a foot apart. "Make it official."

Yuuichi blinked, "Sorry, what was that?"

"I want a kiss." Ryou said, hand brushing Yuuichi's face towards his.

"I- what?" Yuuichi's face melted into Ryou's hand, he was so on fire. He's shy, Ryou thought, I should help. Or else it's going to take him all week to even admit he's gay.

Ryou leaned in, and pressed his lips lightly against Yuuichi's.

Touching someone new like this was always a thrill to Ryou. Even though it's the same thing, over and over again, the new person just makes it exciting all over again, like he was a freshman in high school again, dating a guy from the baseball team. Those good old days where he could kiss for hours and never want a single thing more, convincing himself he'd die happily then. So innocent.

Yuuichi relaxed after Ryou began. He appeared to be nervous about overstepping boundaries, not nervous about actually doing the thing. Yuuichi flicked his tongue out to lick the lip ring.

It was Ryou's turn to blush. He'd never actually had anyone do that on him. Chigusa was obviously not into that, and he hadn't had the time to collect any piercings when he was so young with the baseball player.

Ryou pulled away, grinning. "So, sushi? We might be able to make it there before it begins raining."

Yuuichi smiled. "That sounds wonderful."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

He could not believe he did that, Yuuichi thought the entire way out of the house, through the garden, and down the street. No way. No way. No fucking way! He did not just kiss a man- a man!- that he just met! Did not! He completely did. It wasn't his first kiss, he did go out on a blind date or two with the odd friend of a friend, but absolutely first with a man.

But, he had to admit, it was smart of Ryou to strongarm him into it, and calling this food fetch quest a date. Now he wasn't allowed to be scared of Ryou or unsure of how to treat him. No pretenses to keep up. Out in the open, cards on the table, dating, right out of the blue.

Dating? He considered. Would Ryou be his boyfriend now, or is this just a one-time deal? Probably not a one-off. Ryou and he, well, they clicked, camaraderie already built up over the years.

 _Ryou shrugged his shirt off his wide shoulders, muscles dancing under his skin, letting the white shirt rest on his elbows, angling his left shoulder at Yuuichi. He had a predatory look in his brown eyes, like this was his bait. The red tattoo looked familiar, although Yuuichi was sure it was an original piece of artwork, the three spots spiralling outwards was a symbol of something, he couldn't recall. His hand touched Ryou's warm skin, red inked areas raised like a scar from the rest of it. Ryou blushed. "Touch this, too." He fingered the metal in his ears, but his eyes were drawn to Ryou's mouth, so his hand followed. Yuuichi wanted to, confusingly, bite it, and he wanted Ryou's fancy tongue in his mouth, imagining the contrast of cool, hard metal and hot, soft flesh. He dropped his hand and eyes, spotting a scar on the middle of Ryou's neck, just above his collarbone. What was that from? Ryou hopped off the bed and quickly buttoned his shirt, but not before he counted another three scars on his torso. What?  
_

"Yuuichi? You in there?" Ryou asked, waving a hand in front of his eyes. Yuuichi blinked, what was he supposed to say?

"Man, he's not listening. Just get us two of these, s'il-vous plait?" He said to the chef behind the counter. The chef, a scary-looking man with tattoos on his arms, grunted and got to work. A waitress brought them water.

"Eh? Ah, sorry!" Yuuichi said, "I just zoned out."

Ryou gave him a "no kidding" glance, with a little smirk.

"Misaki-san, who's your friend? Where's he from?" The waitress was a tiny, but energetic girl, her dark hair falling in a long braid down her back.

"Oh, Yuuichi Morino, nice to meet you!" Yuuichi chirped. The waitress looked surprised.

"Eh? Misaki-san, your friend speaks Japanese well! I'm impressed!"

"He's Japanese, Saya-chan." Ryou said, "He's visiting from Sendai."

"Oh, I'm sorry! Please forgive me, Morino-san!" She said, bowing to Yuuichi, furiously.

"It's fine, don't worry." Yuuichi said.

"It's just that Misaki-san, he usually brings all sorts with him here. Most don't speak Japanese at all." Yuuichi gave Ryou a confused look. He was balancing a chopstick across his finger, but noticed Yuuichi's look.

"Remember when I told you about tripping over tourists? They seem to all wander onto my lawn, I guess they think my house is a historical site or something. I can't just leave them to starve in my backyard." His eyes lit up when the chef placed two boards of sushi in front of them. "Besides, it's fun to try to figure out what they're saying."

They savored the sushi in mostly silence. It was amazing, in Yuuichi's humble opinion.

Ryou paid and they left, making a quick detour into a convenience store at the corner for snacks before heading back up to the house.

"What do your parents do for work?" Yuuichi asked, suddenly realizing he didn't know where Ryou's wealth came from.

"Oh, my father is a CEO of a major corporation." His answer seemed... cold? A touchy subject, perhaps. Yuuichi wasn't going to press it. "He's gone most of the year. The house is mostly for the occasional party he hosts, and to collect his mail." His expression softened as he gently ran his fingertips across a fresh sprout. The trees along the driveway were, of course, sakura trees.

"They really are amazing when they bloom." Ryou said, slowly coming back to the present. "Have you ever seen them?"

Yuuichi was about to answer, when he felt a drop on his face. They looked up in unison. Thunder crashed, and rain began pouring from the sky.

"Crap! Gogogo!" Ryou shouted, dashing off to the house, fumbling for his keys as he ran. Yuuichi, despite jogging most days, was unable to get anywhere near the speed Ryou pumped out. He's so athletic, he thought, reaching the door as Ryou unlocked the door.

"Hey, there's towels in the linen closet in the bathroom,"Ryou said, stepping into the kitchen, "Mind grabbing a couple?"

"Okay." Yuuichi said. He climbed the stairs, and poked around in the bathroom. He could see the closet, but he had other business to take care of, and that gave him a second to glance around. Ryou had a small bucket on his counter, full of metal jewelry. They were all piercings. A confusing amount of bottles and tubes were lined up against the mirror. The bar of soap by the sink smelled of sandalwood. He opened the linen closet to find an assortment of towels and blankets and sheets. He selected two from the middle shelf, green and gray, and walked downstairs, wondering why this man owned so many different colored towels.

Ryou walked out of the kitchen, trading one of the towels for a can of soda. He had picked the green one. "Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Oh, um." He didn't know what he wanted. Yuuichi felt like he got all he really wanted when coming to Tokyo; sushi and Ryou.

Ryou cracked open his own can of soda, and placing it onto a side table before plopping onto the couch, ruffling his head violently with the towel. Yuuichi took a moment as he sat by Ryou to observe his surroundings, patting his own head dry with the corner of the towel. The TV was large, and directly in front of the brown couch. Two side tables were off either side of the couch, each holding a small lamp. The TV was hemmed in by bookcases full of discs on one side, books on the other. There was a tiny door, about half the width of a normal door, on the right of the tv. Where did it lead, he wondered.

"Hm? Got something else on your mind?" Ryou asked, mischievously.

"Actually, yeah." Yuuichi placed his drink down, and faced Ryou, who did not seem prepared for this, eyes wide. "What's the scar on your throat from?"

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Ryou froze. Inhaled, closed his eyes, leaning back into the couch.

"Sorry, sorry!" Yuuichi said, "You don't have to tell me if-" Ryou cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"You should know about it, anyway." He exhaled. Inhaled. He had worried about this, when it came out. How would Yuuichi react? It seemed like a topic close to his heart.

"I used to play The World, back when it first came out." Yuuichi gasped. Ryou locked eyes with him. Such intelligent eyes. Figured it out already.

"You were- were a Lost One?"

"Yeah." Ryou touched the mass of scar on his neck, "This is from my trach, they ran a respirator down there." His fingers found the scar on the left of his forehead, parting his bangs so Yuuichi could see. "They put a drain in here, to stop fluid from pooling in my brain. Even had to get a feeding tube up my nose. Not pleasant, but at least that one didn't leave a scar."

Yuuichi made a move to speak, but hesitated. "You can ask whatever it is." Ryou said, picking up his soda, "I won't be offended."

Yuuichi's lips quivered into a smile. "What did it feel like?"

"At the time, nothing. Nothing at all. I wasn't even aware of time passing." Ryou took a swig of soda, wishing it were something a little stronger as he set it back down. Alas, he wasn't about to get plastered with Yuuichi around. "Just woke up, thought it was the day after I had gone under."

"At the time?" Crap. Maybe he didn't want to share quite so much with Yuuichi on the first date. Seriously, he'd sound like an absolute nuthouse if he began talking about Skeith meeting back up with him. Merging with your videogame avatar, pfft.

"Yeah, I didn't remember anything leading up to or involving the coma for years after." He glanced over; Yuuichi was enthralled. "It was only recently that I started remembering everything, even that I did play The World when it happened." He ran a hand through his hair, untangling the damp silver mess. "I might not have started playing Version Two if I did." Damn, he was going to have to tone his hair again soon.

"Hey," Ryou said, suddenly. Yuuichi's eyes snapped to his, his pupils dilating suddenly. "I'm doing an awful lot of talking. What about you?"

"Me?" Yuuichi asked, "I'm not as interesting as you are, Ryou."

"I think you are." Ryou said, scooting over on the couch and resting his forehead on Yuuichi's shoulder.

Silence. He felt Yuuichi freeze. Ryou breathed evenly, slowly, with his heart threatening to pound out of his throat.

He felt hands, feather-like, stroking his back. Yes, he thought, victoriously, I have him now. He placed a hand on Yuuichi's chest, and felt the other man's shoulder shudder with a small gasp. Had he been holding his breathe?

"Hm? You seem a bit shocked." Ryou said, lifting his head to Yuuichi's level, eyeing him through his bangs, "You weren't so shy when you touched my face earlier." He bit onto the ring.

Yuuichi, as if under a spell, closed the distance between them.

His lips were so soft, Ryou thought, parting his mouth. Yuuichi pressed into him, harder, his hands clenching fistfuls of shirt on Ryou's back, pulling him closer. Ryou licked Yuuichi's tongue, enjoying the sensation, but much more entertained by the older man's reactions, flushed terribly, squirming with pleasure, struggling to breathe, yet not wanting to even pull away. Ryou felt Yuuichi exploring the metal in his tongue, his lip, slowly, reverently touching these, like he was afraid he'd hurt him. They carried on like that for some time, getting well acquainted to each other's taste, the feel of another so close. Ryou felt a heat rise in his chest.

Ryou pulled away at last, red-faced, said, "So, movie?" He noticed vaguely that his lips were chapped and he was so thirsty.

Yuuichi chuckled, removed his glasses, and said, "No."

To Ryou's surprise, he pushed Ryou beneath him, and began kissing down his neck. Ryou felt his dick press against his pants, tight and painful. Oh, no, if Yuuichi did this... He wouldn't be able to stop it. He was close enough to insanity as it was. Yuuichi didn't seem much better off, honestly, his eyes full of only desire. Had Yuuichi even had sex before? Shit.

Yuuichi's hands slid up to his shirt, began undoing the buttons. Ryou captured his mouth again, watching Yuuichi's face distort in rapture. Yes, he thought, closing his eyes, and falling into this kiss, this is all he wanted. When Yuuichi finished with the last button, Ryou sat up and pulled his shirt off his arms. Yuuichi bent over to lick Ryou's chest. Ryou took the chance to unzip Yuuichi from his hoodie, which he discarded quickly, as well as the plain black tee shirt he had underneath it. Ryou was content to run his hands over Yuuichi's slim shoulders, as Yuuichi continued licking Ryou, down his stomach, tongue disappearing into his pant's waistband. Yuuichi looked up at him through heavily lidded eyes, lips begging for more. Ryou hissed as Yuuichi unbuttoned his pants, pulling Yuuichi's face back to his. In the back of his mind, he knew he had to stop this. This was too much. Too much, too soon. It had to stop. He couldn't stop anything. He couldn't stop kissing Yuuichi, so hard his mouth hurt, hands dug into Yuuichi's long hair, Yuuichi tugging on his piercing softly with his teeth. Ryou moaned, breathing heavily. No, he couldn't even stop Yuuichi from slipping a hand down the front of his pants.

Ryou squirmed, his dick on fire, pounding, leaking precum onto Yuuichi's hand. He had no choice but to throw his head back and curse with every breath. It was a wonder he hadn't cum from just this small touch. It disappeared too soon. Ryou drunkenly looked back at Yuuichi, who was undoing his own belt.

Ryou laughed, breathlessly, "This is real, then? I'm not just dreaming?" Yuuichi grinned, grunted a yes. Ryou took over undressing Yuuichi, sitting up, trailing kisses and bites and licks down Yuuichi's chest, biting softly at his nipples, drawing his jeans down from his hips. He licked his lips as he slowly stroked Yuuichi's dick, watching Yuuichi watch him. Absolutely fucking intoxicating.

"Ryou?" Yuuichi asked, stroking his neck. He watched, fascinated as Ryou's lips closed around his dick and plunged down, lips meeting his balls. Yuuichi hissed, "Shit." He grabbed Ryou's head and thrust in. Ryou gagged, tearing up. Yuuichi let go of his head, guilt waking him up for a moment, before Ryou roughly grabbed his hands and placed them back over his head. Oh, yes, yes, he thought, as Yuuichi pumped his dick roughly into his throat. He shifted a moment to push his own pants down, so he was able to jerk himself as Yuuichi thrust into his face.

Yuuichi began tensing, tears of ecstasy leaking from his eyes. "Ryou, I'm going to-" Yuuichi gasped, but Ryou pulled his mouth away, a trail of saliva connecting them still. He tilted his face up at Yuuichi, and he met him in an intense kiss. Ryou slowly pulled him back down on top of him, and took both of their dicks in one hand.

"Ah!" Yuuichi groaned as Ryou rubbed their dicks together, jerking them both in one motion. "Ryou!" He buried his teeth in Ryou's shoulder, cumming violently, Ryou doing the same within seconds.

Their bodies stuck together with sweat and cum, panting in rhythm. Yuuichi managed to pull himself onto his elbows, giving Ryou a small kiss on the cheek.

"Now, we can watch a movie."


End file.
